Abdolrahim Mousavi

Abdolrahim Mousavi is the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of Iran, the highest military position in the country. He oversees both the regular Iranian army and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. He was born in 1960 in the city of Qom and joined the regular Iranian army in 1979. He was initially deployed to the Kurdistan region, serving in the 28th Division in Kurdistan. Later, he joined the 33rd Artillery Brigade of the Army Ground Forces and operated in Khuzestan. After the end of the Iran–Iraq War, he completed military studies and later served as Deputy Head of Training for the Army Ground Forces. From 2001 to 2005, he served as the head of the Imam Ali Officer Academy. From 2005 to 2008, he served as Chief of Staff of the Army. From 2008 to 2016, he served as Deputy Commander of the Army. In 2016, he was transferred to the General Staff of the Armed Forces (regular army and Revolutionary Guards) and appointed Deputy Chief of Staff. On August 21, 2017, he was appointed by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei as Commander of the Regular Iranian Army. In May 2019, he was additionally appointed Commander of the Khatam al-Anbia Air Defense Base. On June 13, 2025, following the assassination of Mohammad Bagheri by Israel, he was selected as Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of Iran. This position had traditionally been held by commanders of the Revolutionary Guards, and this was the first time it was assigned to the commander of Iran’s regular army.